Michael Skoletsky

Michael Skoletsky is a Founder and the Executive Director of Shark Savers, dedicated to making significant strides in protecting sharks and rays. Since its founding in 2007, Michael and the Shark Savers team have taken Shark Savers from concept to being a formidable and successful advocacy and conservation organization protecting some of the oceans' most important animals, sharks and rays.

Shark Savers is known for its innovative programs that utilize media and grass roots campaigning to shift attitudes against shark fin soup, to create Shark Sanctuaries, work towards protective laws for sharks and rays worldwide, and educate people as to the value of sharks for preserving the healthy ecological balance of the oceans.

Michael's professional background is in media and marketing. He helped companies to make their next right move, ensured their brand resonates with customers, and defined fresh new ways of meeting the needs of both the customers and the company.

Michael’s career began in traditional advertising, working on both the agency and client sides with Procter & Gamble, Pepsi-Cola, and Coca-Cola. During that time, he was responsible for advertising and media campaigns for such products as Tide, Diet Coke, and various Pepsi brands.

Since the early '90s, his efforts focused on helping brands compete across digital and traditional media. He was founder and President of Panolog in Los Angeles, which partnered with Apple Computer to develop the 'movie studio of the future' software platform prototype. With Panolog, and later as Media & Entertainment Practice Lead at interactive firm Viant and with Blast Radius, he led many strategic initiatives and the resulting implementation for AOL, Time Warner, Paramount, Meredith, and others. Most recently, he led teams to produce Time Inc's Golf.com, Meredith Publishing's Parents.com and BHG.com (Better Homes & Garden).

Michael's interest in the oceans has been a recurring theme. As a child, he devoted much of his bedroom and allowance money to increasingly larger aquariums. He applied to college with the intention of becoming an oceanographer, although his other interests pulled him towards Communication Arts. In the early 80's, Michael worked for advertising legend Alan Pottasch at Pepsi-Cola, who trained and certified Michael as a SCUBA diver. The interest in sharks developed later, although an early encounter with a shark in Hawaii was love at first sight.

Michael was also a teacher of Transcendental Meditation and worked closely with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi developing teacher-training and other video-based course materials. He has a BA with Honors in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.